If someone runs for president of the United States while attacking the pillars of its democracy — the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law — it may be confusing, as well as offensive and outrageous. But is it an effective political strategy? Could Donald Trump’s anti-democracy tactics be a conscious attempt to destabilize things enough to get back into power?

Whether or not they are deliberate, his actions are verifiably consistent with a historical pattern that has played out before, though this may be hard to see in light of how norm-breaking and unprecedented the former president’s actions seem.

Trump refused to accept 86 court decisions rejecting his claim that the 2020 election was illegitimate. He insults U.S. allies and affirms his trust of the leader of Russia, whom he said he trusted more than U.S. intelligence services. He pulled the U.S. out of the treaty prohibiting Russia from targeting our allies in Western Europe. He withheld military assistance to Ukraine as it fought Russia’s invasion. He impugned the integrity of U.S. armed services by calling for the execution of Gen. Mark Milley, his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As the pandemic death toll mounted in the U.S., Trump attacked the National Institutes of Health and suggested bizarre, dangerous, discredited treatments. His challenges to the peaceful transfer of power and the integrity of our justice system places confidence in the dollar, which is essential to our financial stability, entirely at risk.

There is a pattern to........

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